The UK Athletics performance director, Neil Black, has defended the bizarre policy that has led to only one British male sprinter being selected for the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

On Sunday Black named a record-equalling 48-strong team for the event and backed Laura Muir to “do something special” when she goes for the 1500m and 3,000m double in front of her home fans. However, in the men’s 60m only Ojie Edoburun – who finished last in the British Indoor Championships final – has been picked, with several big names, including Reece Prescod and CJ Ujah, deciding not to run.

That could have opened the door for Richard Kilty, the reigning European and former world 60m champion, who is recovering from serious injury and desperate to go for another title. But while European Athletics allows anyone who has run 6.78sec to compete, British Athletics decided to implement a far stricter selection requirement of 6.60sec – a time Kilty, who has run 6.63sec, is just outside.

Strangely the 60m standard for men is far tougher than that for any other event – and would have won a medal during the last European Indoors – while the British Athletics women’s standard of 7.25sec would not even have made the final. Black, however, insisted there was nothing wrong with it. “We had a very clear policy which says the qualification mark is 6.60sec,” he said. “That’s been the men’s mark since 2013 for the European Indoors. It’s never been questioned in the past and it’s a standard that we’ve all been comfortable with.”

When asked about Kilty’s frustrations at missing out, Black said they had to follow their own selection policy. “We can’t let emotions get involved in that process,” he added. It is understood that Kilty, who is ranked 11th in Europe, is appealing against the decision.

Black also denied feeling any unease at filling only one slot in an event where Britain has farmed medals at previous European championships. “It’s certainly not embarrassment,” he said. “The whole policy is based around selecting everyone who is selectable, selecting a large team, giving as many people as possible the experience of a championships. It’s a large and competitive team, it includes five previous gold medallists and other previous medallists. It’s a great team. There’s just one thing that looks unusual.”

Black also predicted that Laura Muir, who will be looking to retain her 1500m and 3,000m titles, would be one of the stars of the championships when they begin on 1 March. “We’ve all seen Laura evolve as an athlete and as a performer and as a person,” he said. “I am incredibly impressed with how she deals with the different circumstances she finds herself in. She has a brilliant team around her with her coach Andy Young sharing the responsibilities. I’m very confident she knows what she’s doing. She’s preparing seriously for this double-double and I think we’re really going to see something special. There’s the capacity for the whole country to stand still on that Sunday evening for the 1500m.”

He added: “I see an athlete who has complete confidence that she has the ability to win global medals.”

Elsewhere Adelle Tracey was handed the final 800m spot ahead of the Olympic finalist Lynsey Sharp, who has been out of form indoors this winter, while Andrew Pozzi will unexpectedly defend his 60m hurdles title despite picking up an injury over Christmas. “It’s brilliant that Andy is back,” said Black. “We didn’t think he would not be available because he asked whether he could be selected providing he demonstrated his fitness. If he does so, it will be fantastic for him to be there.”